Water disparity is a term that describes the availability of clean, fresh water for the human population. Several international organizations, including the United Nations, have determined that there is a water crisis and that human demand is greater than the amount currently available. However, other organizations claim that there is no water crisis.
Water Availability and health impacts
The United Nations has claimed that there is enough water for everybody, and that the crisis is caused by corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of government regulations. Typically, countries with a higher GDP per capita have much more access to water.
Today, there are currently over 884 million people without access to safe drinking water, and about 2.5 billion without water that is used for sanitation.
The absence of clean water is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Diseases that present themselves in unsanitary water account for 88% of all diseases, and cause over half the hospital beds to be occupied in the world.
Though many people in the world have no access to clean water, the number of people who do have access to it has increased dramatically. Since 1990, 2 billion people have gained access to water. Today, 84% of the population in developing countries has access to a reliable clean water source, compared to only 30% in 1970. The numbers are expected to increase continually over time.
This increase in water availability is due to more sanitation technology in the developing world. However, while this is helping the third world get access it certainly isn't helping to the decrease the pressure put on the earth's water sources. The UN predicts that there will be a 5% decrease in rainfall by 2013. Some examples of bodies of water disappearing include the Aral Sea and the Colorado River.
Environmental impacts
The overuse of water is severely harming biodiversity worldwide. Water pollution is taking a major toll on the ecosystem and is destroying habitats and eliminating species. Pollution of rivers and lakes reduces accessible freshwater supplies dramatically. A total of 450 cubic kilometers of polluted water is discharged into freshwater basins yearly. In order to dilute the pollution to make the basin useful again it would take another 6000 cubic kilometers of clean water, which is equal to about two thirds of the world's total annual usable water runoff.
A sustainable portion of the total freshwater supply is needed to sustain various ecosystems, but as humanity withdraws a larger amount of available freshwater, less is available to maintain the vital ecosystems. Wildlife is incredibly dependant on fresh water sources; however, overpopulation leads to more and more land being taken over for human occupation, leading to the destruction of several ecosystems. Places like marshes, bogs, and swamps are all dependant on adequate fresh water supply, as well as areas such as forests. However, most of these areas are threatened, and many have been destroyed entirely, such as the 80% of wetlands that have been destroyed in the United States.
Water Disparity
Water disparity is a term that describes the availability of clean, fresh water for the human population. Several international organizations, including the United Nations, have determined that there is a water crisis and that human demand is greater than the amount currently available. However, other organizations claim that there is no water crisis.
Water Availability and health impacts
The United Nations has claimed that there is enough water for everybody, and that the crisis is caused by corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of government regulations. Typically, countries with a higher GDP per capita have much more access to water.Today, there are currently over 884 million people without access to safe drinking water, and about 2.5 billion without water that is used for sanitation.
The absence of clean water is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Diseases that present themselves in unsanitary water account for 88% of all diseases, and cause over half the hospital beds to be occupied in the world.
Though many people in the world have no access to clean water, the number of people who do have access to it has increased dramatically. Since 1990, 2 billion people have gained access to water. Today, 84% of the population in developing countries has access to a reliable clean water source, compared to only 30% in 1970. The numbers are expected to increase continually over time.
This increase in water availability is due to more sanitation technology in the developing world. However, while this is helping the third world get access it certainly isn't helping to the decrease the pressure put on the earth's water sources. The UN predicts that there will be a 5% decrease in rainfall by 2013. Some examples of bodies of water disappearing include the Aral Sea and the Colorado River.
Environmental impacts
The overuse of water is severely harming biodiversity worldwide. Water pollution is taking a major toll on theA sustainable portion of the total freshwater supply is needed to sustain various ecosystems, but as humanity withdraws a larger amount of available freshwater, less is available to maintain the vital ecosystems. Wildlife is incredibly dependant on fresh water sources; however, overpopulation leads to more and more land being taken over for human occupation, leading to the destruction of several ecosystems. Places like marshes, bogs, and swamps are all dependant on adequate fresh water supply, as well as areas such as forests. However, most of these areas are threatened, and many have been destroyed entirely, such as the 80% of wetlands that have been destroyed in the United States.